This invention generally relates to compost handling apparatus; and more particularly, to apparatus specifically designed to agitate compost in, and to move the compost along, an elongated bay.
Various controlled composting procedures have been proposed or developed to provide an improved disposal of municipal refuse, sewage, sludge, plant waste and similar biodegradable materials. The advantages attendant with this form of treatment are manyfold and, for instance, the compost or end product of the procedure represents a significant reduction in waste volume. Also, the compost itself may have important commercial value as a fertilizer, for instance.
With one prior art composting procedure, organic waste is mixed with a bulking agent and then deposited in an input end of a elongated bay. Each day the waste is moved a certain distance along the bay and new waste, also mixed with a bulking agent, is added to the input end of the bay. As the waste moves along the bay, it is aerated and gradually changes into a stable, commercially useable compost, and at this point, the compost is removed from the bay.
With this prior art procedure, a machine is used both to help aerate the compost and to move it through the bay. This machine includes a carriage that moves over the compost, on a pair of rails secured to top lateral edges of the bay, a conveyor assembly that extends downward from the carriage and into the bay, and an agitating drum supported forward of the conveyor assembly. In use, the conveyor assembly operates to lift the compost and displace it rearward a certain distance, and the agitating drum is rotated against the compost to agitate, mix and grind the compost prior to its engagement with the conveyor assembly.
Generally, this prior art machine produces satisfactory results, however its performance can be improved upon in several respects. For example, it is has been found that much better results can be obtained by using a larger agitating drum. Providing the machine with a larger drum is complicated, though, by the way the drum is supported. More specifically, the drum is supported by a pair of lateral support arms that extend forward from the conveyor assembly; and in use, these support arms are located closely adjacent the side walls of the composting bay, with the drum laterally extending between the support arms. It is preferred to extend the drum laterally across as much of the bay as is practical; and this limits the thickness of the support arms for the drum, and this, in turn, limits the weight that those arms can carry.
Also, with the prior art machine, the lateral ends of the drum are slightly spaced from its support arms; and, over time, an appreciable amount of compost will be squeezed into the interior of the drum, through that space between the ends of the drum and its support arms. Occasionly, it is necessary to remove the material that accumulates inside the drum; and this normally requires disassembling a large portion of the machine, which is a relatively time consuming and, thus, expensive task. Additionally, with the prior art machine, occasionally a compost carrying plate of the conveyor assembly will strike an object or a piece of debris that has become firmly lodged in the compost, and this will block further movement of that plate. When this happens, the force used to drive the conveyor assembly is increased to try to dislodge that object or debris; however, this sometimes causes the plate of the conveyor assembly to break.